Wilder (33-0, 32 KOs), who had never fought past the fourth round and had knocked out all 32 of his professional opponents, boxed brilliantly behind a stellar jab to become the first U.S.-born heavyweight champion in nearly a decade. The towering 6-foot-7 Tuscaloosa native capitalized on his reach advantage, jabbing consistently to set up a powerful straight right.

Fighting on Hall of Famer Muhammad Ali's 73rd birthday, Wilder became the first undefeated American heavyweight champion since Riddick Bowe in 1992 and the first American champion since Shannon Briggs won the crown in 2006.

“I'm just excited and happy to bring this belt back to America,” Wilder said. “It's going to mean a lot. I think I answered a lot of questions tonight. We knew we could go 12 rounds. We knew we could take a punch. We knew we could do it.”

I hate to be negative, but he also proved how terrible the Heavyweight division really is. Boy will it be ugly when Wladimir retires.

The Good Doctor says:

[QUOTE=Scar;74539]I hate to be negative, but he also proved how terrible the Heavyweight division really is. Boy will it be ugly when Wladimir retires.[/QUOTE]

I might be a little sideways when I say this, but I am not sure that the Heavyweight division is as bad as advertised. It seems to me what is missing is some really good training. I don't think I've ever seen a time where there are so many guys with what I call “the raw” meaning tools that only cannot be taught but you just have. Many of them seem completely untapped and grossly under-trained.

You have some guys now with tremendous height and reach: Wlad, Wilder, Fury, Price, Jennings

Guys with behemoth strength: Stivernne, Wlad, Seth Mitchell

Add to that some rough around the edges young bucks in Joshua and Parker and you have something there.

I get that none of these guys are world beaters but it does seem to me that there is something to work with. Several of the guys listed have very fixable flaws. Maybe I'm wrong, but I kind of see it as glass half full.

The Commish says:

[QUOTE=Scar;74539]I hate to be negative, but he also proved how terrible the Heavyweight division really is. Boy will it be ugly when Wladimir retires.[/QUOTE]

Ugly when Wladimir retires? He is so dominant that his fights are ridiculous blowouts. Are you really going to admit that Wlad's fights against Alex Leapai and Kubrat Pulev were not ugly? They were one-sided beatdowns. Once Wladimir retires. The entire heavyweight division is going to open up. Fights are going to be competitive.

Unless, of course, you think competitive is ugly!

-Randy G.

stormcentre says:

If ever there was an opponent that was so overly trumped up (on the world scene) that you had to wonder what his management were telling him it would be Alex Leapai.

The amount of people in Australia that I had telling me to “look out” for him; that I had to just go quiet on, so I didn't insult their intelligence (on all Alex's obvious limitations and what makes a really good heavyweight); was simply amazing.

A real lesson in biting my own lip.

Of course, when the Klitschko fight was penned, I knew then what was going to happen.

Bit harsh I know, but hey, there's a lot more to championship boxing (in any weight division) than looking for the big shots and throwing hooks.

Half the guys out there right now are not even pushing themselves hard with the sustained anerobics and aerobic workouts required to step on the gas anytime anywhere; for “kill time”.